The present invention relates primarily to flashlights.
Various flashlight designs are known in the art. Flashlights include one or more dry cell batteries and in certain designs the batteries are arranged in series in a battery compartment of a barrel or tube which acts as a handle for the flashlight. Electrical energy from the batteries is generally conducted to a lamp or bulb at the front end of the flashlight through a switch mechanism positioned between the batteries and the lamp.
In various flashlight designs, the lamp is supported within the flashlight by a holder or spacer within the barrel and extends into the flashlight reflector. For optimal performance, the lamp must be properly aligned with the reflector. However, due to manufacturing and assembly operations and tolerances, after manufacture of the flashlight is fully completed, the lamp may be permanently misaligned with the reflector, resulting in degraded performance.
In addition, since under certain conditions the batteries can leak, it is advantageous to seal the battery compartment of the flashlight. On the other hand, since batteries can also release gases, it is advantageous to vent the battery compartment without allowing ingress of moisture, contaminants, etc.
In a first aspect, the present invention is directed to a flashlight having an improved switch mechanism which contains a switch assembly with a forwardly extending neck supporting the flashlight lamp. The switch housing partially floats within the flashlight barrel to allow for a slight adjustment of the lamp relative to the reflector, thereby insuring centering of the lamp and the lamp filament to the reflector. In a second aspect, the switch housing has a seal which seals the forward end of the battery compartment. In the third aspect, assembly of the flashlight is improved because of the alignment of the internal component parts.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a flashlight having improved means for alignment between the lamp and reflector.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a. flashlight with a switch assembly having improved sealing characteristics.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a flashlight having improved assembly through alignment of internal components.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which disclose one embodiment of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.